Page 58 - Arrow Publications Pvt. Ltd.

“Thank you,” said the young man, “I will pay you money.”

The middle-aged man quietly picked up the suitcase and carried it to the venue of the lecture.

He did not accept any money from the young man.

A little while later, the speaker was invited on the dais to deliver his lecture.
The young man was stunned by what he saw. The “porter” who had carried his luggage at the

railway station was the same person whose lecture he had come to attend! He felt remorseful.
He went up to the speaker and fell at his feet, asking for an apology. The ‘porter’ smiled and

said, “Young man, there is no need for you to feel ashamed of doing your own work. I only
wanted to show you that.”

The ‘porter’ was none other than Ishwar
Chandra Vidyasagar, a philosopher,
educator, writer, social reformer

and philanthropist. He was a person
with high morality, honest character,
truthfulness, unselfishness and above

all modesty.

Born in a Brahmin family in Midnapore
district in 1820, he spent his childhood
in dire poverty. He received his
education in the local village Paatshala.

Later he migrated to Kolkata where he

joined the famous Sanskrit college. He
was a brilliant student who would often
top the examinations. He received

several scholarships. These scholarships helped him to complete his education. At the tender

age of 19, he completed law. He also gained mastery in many disciplines-Kavya (poetry),
Alankara (rhetoric), Vedanta, Smriti and Nyaya. Due to his outstanding performance, he was
awarded the title of ‘Vidyasagar’ (ocean of knowledge).

He worked for social justice, upliftment of women, and supported widow remarriages and
opposed ‘Sati’ and child marriages. He also opened schools for girls and brought significant

reforms in the education sector by bringing justice and equality for women through
education.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar truly lived up to the ideal- ‘Knowledge Liberates’.

57 Arrow - English Plus-6